New Clothes
by LoonyLunaAKAme
Summary: Cas has pretty much gotten the hang of human life. Except for the minor problem of clothing.


New Clothes

Cas had been human for a few months now. He'd had plenty of time to adjust to eating, sleeping, and living as a vulnerable human. He'd accepted the loss of his powers and learned to fight. He'd eaten food other than burgers by the dozen. He could bathe himself and drive the impala. He'd even been trusted to check the three of them into a motel a few times. Cas was pretty good at being human at this point and the Winchesters might have even said so if not for one thing. Cas only had one set of clothes and he refused to buy more.

Just days after Cas had found them and explained the situation; Dean suggested that he buy clothes to change into. "You're human now Cas. You sweat. You smell. Your clothes get torn up. We need to buy you more to wear."

Cas could not see the point in spending money, which they so rarely came by, on something he already had. He replied saying he doesn't care if he smells or if he feels some wind on his skin. But after months wearing the same clothes, day, after night, after day, Castiel was finally convinced to buy new clothes.

Cas and the Winchesters were working a very strange case which seemed to revolve around a snobbish little girl, Danielle Mason. They knocked on the door of the little girl's house and spoke to her mother asking for a short interview. "Hello ma'am. We're FBI agents Smith, Jones, and Brown," Sam lied as they held out their badges, "We're hoping we can talk to your daughter for a few minutes about what happened to the Frank family last week."

"I'm not so sure," she replied hesitantly, "I don't want to scare her."

"It's just a few simple questions. We'll be gentle," Dean reassured her.

She allowed them into her home and held the door open as the three men strode past. She stiffened as Cas passed her and he nodded as though it would make her trust him.

"She's in the kitchen. But," She paused and looked Cas up and down while the others waited with worry, "I'm not sure you should talk to her, Agent Brown."

Sam and Dean glanced at each other in confusion. Dean leaned forward and tilted his head as he asked, "Excuse me, but… why?"

Mrs. Mason snapped her neck up and hurriedly answered, "Oh, of course, of course! It's just that Danielle has a small problem about smells and things she finds icky. It would only," she hesitated, "make it harder to speak with her." She smiled and looked hopefully at Dean.

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Sam told her. Her worried expression returned but she didn't stop Cas from following Sam and Dean.

The three of them had many questions prepared but they barely managed to say hello to Danielle before she started screaming. They walked into the room to see a girl who couldn't be older than 7 dressed up and having a tea party with Barbie dolls. She was wearing a large pink gown that seemed to have been sewn especially for her. Her hair was curled and a glistening tiara adorned her head. They could even see her neon pink nail polish from the doorway. As they walked inside, she sat up and looked away from dolls with a look of concentration on her face. She turned her head sharply towards Castiel and her expression turned murderous.

"You! You shall not be in the princesses' presence in such unbecoming garments! And one should bathe themselves before going to speak to royalty. You shall leave this place at once!" Danielle shouted at Castiel seriously.

Dean tried to move forward to explain but before he could lift his foot she let out the high pitched scream of a tantrum and her mother arrived to shoo them out of the house. They left in defeat.

In the car, Sam and Dean shot annoyed glances at Castiel which he ignored in favor of criticizing Danielle. "Clearly, this child is a demon of some kind. We need to kill it."

Dean turned in his seat and pointed furiously at Castiel. "That girl is not a demon. She's an annoying kid who spoke the truth about how much you need new clothes. This is the last straw," Dean turned back and continued, "We're going shopping today."

Sam huffed in his seat and Cas gazed out the window as Dean changed his route toward the nearest clothing store he knew of. Sam was annoyed that he was being dragged along and he'd most likely need to find something else to do to get out of Dean's line of fire. Cas still could not see the point of buying new clothes and felt that this whole outing would be useless.

Dean eventually found a mall with enough stores to supply clothes for Cas. He got his parking lot ticket with one of his fake credit cards and pulled into a spot. He nearly dragged a disgruntled Cas out of the car as Sam waved goodbye to go find something to do as he waited. Cas came reluctantly and followed Dean to one of the shops.

Dean had decided to start by finding some casual clothes and hunting clothes for him. He found t-shirts, plaid, and comfortable jeans while Cas went on his own and found polo's, sweaters, and dress pants. They met by the dressing rooms where they each looked at the other's pile of clothing with disgust.

"Cas, we can't buy those. We need comfortable clothes. We need cheap stuff that can get torn. We've gotta be practical," Dean told Cas sternly. He pointed at the clothes Cas had picked out and said, "Those are not practical."

Cas looked up at Dean with furrowed eyebrows. He stared at him up and down for a moment before saying with a finality only a former angel could achieve, "I do not wish to look like you. If we must buy clothing we will buy the ones I want."

Dean scowled and replied with a confidence only someone who looked down on angels could have, "You're a hunter now, Cas. You live like a hunter. You eat like a hunter. You dress like a hunter. Fancy schmancy polo shirts are not something hunters wear."

Cas sighed in defeat dropped the clothes he was carrying onto a shelf behind him. Dean went into the dressing room and Cas followed after. Dean pointed wordlessly toward a dressing room and handed Cas his basket.

Cas remembered Dean's advice as he tried on the clothes and came out to show him. He stood in each outfit saying it was itchy, or too tight, or loose, or uncomfortable in some other way. None of it was technically a lie but Castiel had spent enough time as a human to know how to infuriate Dean about petty problems. He wasn't going to take this lying down.

Dean stopped him after the first five with a clever idea.

Gently he asked, "When you look for a vessel, what do you look for other than being able to hold you?"

Cas was startled and replied, "I suppose we used to try to find the strongest, most healthy, available vessel. We usually like someone who'll take us in without much trouble."

Dean grinned at Cas and explained, "Buying clothes is just like that! It's gotta be able to hold you so it should be your size." Cas looked perplexed but interested in what he had to say. Dean continued, "It should be strong so it won't rip and you can do hard work in it." Cas started nodding and prodding Dean to finish. "It should be comfortable so you can put it on and wear it without all the trouble. You need them in good condition so you can walk around in the world. Clothes are just like vessels, except there are tons of them."

Cas's face lit up with understanding and he said apologetically, "Yes, of course. You're right. I'm sorry. All of these are good. They are worth the time and the money contrary to what I've said before." Cas lowered his head and solemnly continued, "Adjusting to human life has been difficult Dean. I am grateful that you have been so helpful these past months."

Dean smiled and punched Cas lightly in the arm. "Well we can't be dragging around a baby in a trench coat can we? Now we've got a baby in plaid."


End file.
